Wenguanguo is a species of the sapindaceae family. Its scientific name is Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge. Wenguanguo is the common Chinese name. Others are Wenguannguo, Wenguanmu, Wenguanhua, Xilacedeng, Goldenhorn and Yellowhorn. Wenguanguo is grown in Liaoning, Jilin, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia, China. Its seeds, leaves and flowers are edible and have been used as a folk or traditional medicine to treat enuresis for centuries. Its branches and woods are also used as a folk or traditional medicine. For more detailed information and background or relevent art of the present invention, please refer to page 1, lines 25-38, to page 13 of International PCT Application No. PCT/US04/33359, filed Oct. 8, 2004, and U.S. Ser. No. 10/906,303, filed Feb. 14, 2005. The contents of these preceding applications are hereby incorporated in their entireties by reference into this application.
Yingjie Chen, Tadahiro Takeda and Yukio Ogihara reported in Chem. Pharm. Bull 33(4)1387-1394(1985) described a study on the constituent of Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge. See Section V. Saponins from the Fruits of Xanthoceras sorbifolia. Four new saponins were isolated from the fruits of Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge. The structures of these saponins are bunkankasaponins A, B, C and D. The chemical name of these compounds are:                22-O-acetyl-21-O-(4-O-acetyl-3-O-angeloyl)-β-D-fucopyranosyl-3-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucuronopyranosyl]protoaecigenin        22-O-acetyl-21-O-(3,4-di-O-angeloyl)-β-D-fucopyranosyl-3-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucuronopyranosyl]protoaecigenin        28-O-acetyl-21-O-(4-O-acetyl-3-O-angeloyl)-β-D-fucopyranosyl-3-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucuronopyranosyl]protoaecigenin        28-O-acetyl-21-O-(3,4-di-O-angeloyl)-β-D-fucopyranosyl-3-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucuronopyranosyl]protoaecigenin.        
The functions of these compounds were not previously disclosed.
Yingjie Chen, Tadahiro Takeda and Yukio Ogihara reported in Chem. Pharm. Bull 33(3)1043-1048(1985) described studies on the constituent of Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge. See Section IV. Structures of the Miner Prosapogenin. The prosapogenins from the partial hydrolyzate of fruit saponin of Xanthoceras sorbifolia were examined, and are characterized as:                16-O-acetyl-21-O-(3,4-di-O-angeloyl-β-D-fucopyranosyl)protoaecigenin        22-O-acetyl-21-O-(3,4-di-O-angeloyl-β-D-fucopyranosyl)protoaecigenin 3-O-β-D-glucuronopyranoside.        
The functions of these compounds were not previously disclosed.
Yingjie Chen, Tadahiro Takeda and Yukio Ogihara. Chem. Pharm. Bull 33(1)127-134(1985) described studies on the constituent of Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge. See Section III. Minor Prosapogenins aponins from the Fruits of Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge. The structure of 3 minor prosapogenins, obtained by acid hydrolysis of the crude saponin faction, were characterized as:                21-O-(3,4-di-O-angeloyl)-β-D-fucopyranosyltheasapogenol B        21-O-(4-O-acetyl-3-O-angeloyl)-β-D-fucopyranosyltheasapogenol B        21-O-(4-O-acetyl-3-O-angeloyl)-β-D-fucopyranosyl-22-O-acetylprotoaescigenin.        
The functions of these compounds were not previously disclosed.
Yingjie Chen, Tadahiro Takeda and Yukio Ogihara in Chem. Pharm. Bull 33(4)1387-1394(1985) described a study on the constituent of Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge. See Section II. Major Sapogenol and prosapogenin from the Fruits of Xanthoceras sorbifolia. In addition to above studies, saponins with angeloyl groups attached were also reported in the following reports.
Laurence Voutquenne, Cecile Kokougan. Catherine Lavaud, Isabelle Pouny, Marc Litaudon. “Triterpenoid saponins and Acylated prosapogenins from Harpullia austro-calcdonica.” Phytochemistry 59 (2002) 825-832.
Zhong Jaing, Jean-francois Gallard, Marie-Therese Adeline, Vincent Dumontet, Mai Van Tri, Thierry Sevenet, and Mary Pais “Six Triterpennoid Saponins from Maesa laxiflora.” J. Nat. Prod. (1999), 62, 873-876.
Young Seo, John M. Berger, Jennine Hoch, Kim M Neddermann, Isia Bursuker, Steven W. Mamber and David G. Kingston. “A new Triterpene Saponin from Pittosporum viridiflorum from the Madagascar Rainforest”. J. Nat. Prod. 2002, 65, 65-68.
Xiu-Wei Yang, Jing Zhao, Xue-Hui Lui, Chao-Mei Ma, Masao Hattori, and Li He Zhang “Anti-HIV-1 Protease Triterpenoid Saponins from the Seeds of Aesculus chinensis.” J. Nat. Prod. (1999), 62, 1510-1513.
Yi Lu, Tatsuya Umeda, Akihito Yagi, Kanzo Sakata, Tirthankar Chaudhuri, D.K. Ganguly, Secion Sarma. “Triterpenoid Saponins from the roots of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis var. Assamica).” Phytochchemistry 53 (2000) 941-946.
Sandra Apers, Tess E. De Bruyne, Magda Claeys, Arnold J. Viletinck, Luc A.C. Pieters. “New acylated triterpenoid saponins from Maesa laceceolata.” Phytochemistry 52 (1999) 1121-1131.
Ilaria D'Acquarica, Maria Cristina, Di Giovanni, Francesco Gasparrini, Domenico Misiti, Claudio D'Arrigo, Nicolina Fagnano, Decimo Guarnieri, Giovanni Iacono, Giuseppe Bifulco and Raffaele Riccio. “Isolation and structure elucidation of four new triterpenoid estersaponins from fruits of the Pittosporumtobira AIT.” Tetrahedron 58 (2002) 10127-10136.
Cancer cells are defined by two heritable properties: (1) they reproduce in defiance of normal restraints on cell division; and (2) they invade and colonize territories normally reserved for other cells.
Cancers require mutations of one to many genes for its development, and they are classified according to the tissue and cell type from which they arise. Cancers arising from epithelial cells are named carcinomas; those arising from connective tissue or muscle cells are named sarcomas. In addition, there are cancers called leukemias, which are derived from hemopaietic cells. Cancers can also develop from cells of the nervous system.
Cancers originating from different types of cells are, in general, very different diseases. Each cancer has characteristics that reflect its origin. Even when a cancer has metastasized and proliferated out of control, its origins can be traced back to a single, primary tumor. Therefore, it is important to develop drugs or compounds capable of targeting various types of cancer cells.
Ovarian cancer is the 5th leading cause of cancer death in women and the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancies. In the United States, females have a 1.4 to 2.5%, or 1 out of 40-60 women, lifelong chance of developing ovarian cancer. Older women are at highest risk. More than half of the deaths from ovarian cancer occur in women between 55 and 74 years of age, and approximately one quarter of ovarian cancer deaths occur in women between 35 and 54 years of age. See MedlinePlus Encyclopedia on ovarian cancer at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000889.htm.
Ovarian cancer is disproportionately deadly for a number of reasons. First, symptoms are vague and non-specific, so women and their physicians frequently attribute them to more common conditions. By the time the cancer is diagnosed, the tumor has often spread beyond the ovaries. Also, ovarian cancers shed malignant cells that frequently implant on the uterus, bladder, bowel, and lining of the bowel wall (omentum). These cells can begin forming new tumor growths before cancer is even suspected. Second, because no cost-effective screening test for ovarian cancer exists, more than 50 percent of women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed in the advanced stages of the disease.
This invention provides compounds or compositions extracted from Xanthoceras sorbifolia or plants from the sapindaceae family, or synthesized which have substantial potency against ovarian cancer.